Through the Dynasties · LD6

Three Kingdoms

Tripartite division of Wei, Shu, and Wu and strategic rivalry

34works

5forms

15authors

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Classical Poetry

Orthodox classical Chinese poetry spanning archaic ballads to Tang regulated verse.12 works
  1. A Short SongCao Cao · Yuefu BalladsMountains never tire of their height, nor seas of their depth. Emulate Duke of Zhou in welcoming talent, and the world will unite.
  2. Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute · Section 1Cai Wenji · Yuefu BalladsHeaven is ruthless to rain down turmoil; Earth is cruel to cast my life in such an age.
  3. Singing of My Thoughts · Poem 1 (Night Cannot Sleep)Ruan Ji · Old-Style SongsThin curtains reflect the bright moon, cool breezes brush my robe. Pacing, what is there to see? Sorrow wounds my solitary heart.
  4. Gazing Across the Vast SeaCao Cao · Yuefu BalladsThe journeys of sun and moon seem to issue from its depths; the brilliant galaxy appears to rise from within.
  5. Seven Steps PoemCao Zhi · Old-Style SongsBorn from the very same root, why oppress each other with such haste?
  6. Song of Yan · Part 1 (Autumn Winds Bleak)Cao Pi · Yuefu BalladsThe bright moon illuminates my bed, the Milky Way flows west before the night ends. The Cowherd and Weaver gaze from afar: what guilt bars them behind the heavenly stream?
  7. The White HorseCao Zhi · Yuefu BalladsA white horse adorned with golden halter, galloping swift toward the northwest. May I ask whose gallant son this is? A knight-errant from You and Bing. Laying down his life for the nation's peril, he looks upon death as merely returning home!
  8. The Fair MaidenCao Zhi · Yuefu BalladsA fair maiden lovely and refined, gathering mulberries at the crossroads. Tender boughs sway softly, leaves flutter gently down. The beauty cherishes noble righteousness, yet finding a worthy match is truly hard. In her prime blooming years confined to bedchambers, in the middle of the night she rises with deep sighs.
  9. To Biao, King of BaimaCao Zhi · Old-Style SongsA noble man sets his resolve across the four seas; ten thousand li are still as next-door neighbors. If affection and love suffer no decline, distance only deepens closeness each day. Why must we share the same bed-canopy to express warmth? Snatched apart in haste, how could kindred hearts not ache with bitter grief?
  10. Poem of Sorrow and IndignationCai Wenji (Cai Yan) · Old-Style SongsEntrusting my life to a new spouse, weeping my heart out in solitude. How brief is human lifespan, yet burdened with grief to the end of years!
  11. Poem of Sorrow and Indignation · Part ICai Yan (Cai Wenji) · Old-Style SongsIn the decline of the Han dynasty imperial authority faltered as traitorous vassals usurped power in chaotic rebellion; slaughtered innocents littered the land, corpses piled high against one another under blood-soaked skies as wild weeping shook the wandering spirits.
  12. Poem of Sorrow and Indignation · Part II (Sao Form)Cai Yan (Cai Wenji) · Chu ElegiesFive-colored clouds drift over vast swirling waters; surveying heaven and earth, how boundless and desolate! Frosty winds chill the withered brush; when the nomad reed-pipe sounds, my inner heart breaks with sorrow.

Rhapsody & Parallel Prose

Grand rhapsodies and parallel prose showcasing acoustic symmetry and ornate eloquence.3 works
  1. Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo RiverCao Zhi · Short RhapsodiesGraceful as a startled swan, supple as a swimming dragon. Radiant as autumn chrysanthemums, luxuriant as pines in spring.
  2. Rhapsody on Ascending the TowerWang Can · Short RhapsodiesAscending this tower to gaze in all directions, using leisure hours to dispel my sorrow. Beholding the ground where this pavilion rests, truly spacious and with few rivals. Yet though it is truly beautiful, it is not my native soil—how could it suffice to make me tarry even a little while!
  3. Rhapsody on Secluded LongingCao Zhi · Short RhapsodiesLeaning against the refreshing heights of the tower, gazing upon endless long islands. Heart aching with bitter sorrow, longing yet unable to behold the beloved. I wish to entrust my wings to returning wild geese, bearing my frail feathers across ten thousand li.

Classical Prose

Authoritative classical prose from Pre-Qin philosophers to Tang-Song prose masters.7 works
  1. First Memorial on the ExpeditionZhuge Liang · Essays & MemorialsI took up my charge amid military collapse, and received my mission in perilous danger.
  2. Letter Breaking Ties with Shan JuyuanJi Kang · Letters & PrefacesTranscend formal doctrine to follow natural inclination; examine true desires and abide in universal equality.
  3. Letter to Wu Zhi · Remembering Past WanderingsCao Pi (Emperor Wen of Wei) · Letters & PrefacesTime glides swiftly by; four years have elapsed since our parting. In the plague of recent years, kin and friends withered away—Xu, Chen, Ying, and Liu perished all at once; can such agony even be spoken? In bygone days we roamed by day and feasted by night, passing wine cups and crafting rhapsodies—what unmatched joy!
  4. Letter to Yang DezuCao Zhi · Letters & PrefacesCao Zhi writes: Separated for a few days, yearning for you wearies my soul. Every person has strengths and shortcomings; scholars under heaven follow no rigid mold! Rhapsody writing may be a modest craft, insufficient to conquer boundless realms; yet joining eternity and transmitting renown upon bamboo and silk is what every noble mind aspires to.
  5. Letter of Admonition to My SonZhuge Liang · Letters & PrefacesWithout living simply, one cannot clarify one's aspirations; without stillness, one cannot reach far horizons.
  6. Treatise on Nurturing LifeJi Kang · Essays & MemorialsThe art of nurturing life is like medical therapy: if well harmonized, the physical frame stays healthy and longevity naturally extends.
  7. Second Memorial on Dispatching the TroopsZhuge Liang · Essays & MemorialsI shall bend my body in devotion and exhaust my strength until death.

Literary Criticism

Classical literary aesthetics, treatises on poetic craft, and critical commentaries.1 works
  1. Authoritative Discourses: On LiteratureCao Pi · Literary TheoryLiterature is the grand enterprise of statecraft and an immortal monument. Mortal years have their appointed end, worldly joys perish with the physical self—both are inevitable limits, whereas literature endures infinite and eternal.

Sayings & Idioms

Living Chinese linguistic heritage comprising idioms, proverbs, aphorisms, and couplets.11 works
  1. Separating Heaven and EarthXu Zheng · IdiomsFrom the myth of Pangu splitting heaven from earth; since the dawn of time, or an unprecedented feat.
  2. Three Visits to the Thatched CottageZhuge Liang · IdiomsLiu Bei visited Zhuge Liang's cottage three times to recruit him; sincerely and repeatedly seeking out talent.
  3. Bowing in Devotion Until ExhaustedZhuge Liang · IdiomsServing with reverent care and giving all one's strength; lifelong, wholehearted devotion to duty.
  4. Facing Wine, One Should SingCao Cao · IdiomsSing over your wine, for life is short; originally a lament on fleeting time, later carefree revelry.
  5. Through Boiling Water and FireJi Kang · IdiomsBraving any danger; willing to go through fire and water for a cause.
  6. Pooling Wisdom for Greater BenefitZhuge Liang · IdiomsDrawing on collective wisdom and useful suggestions to achieve better results.
  7. Belittling Oneself Without CauseZhuge Liang · IdiomsTo underrate oneself without reason; undue self-deprecation.
  8. Looking Left and RightCao Zhi · IdiomsGlancing left and right; originally self-satisfied, now looking around or hesitating.
  9. Versed in Past and PresentKongzi Jiayu · IdiomsWell versed in both ancient and modern matters; broadly learned.
  10. Not Knowing What One Is SayingZhuge Liang · IdiomsOriginally humble; now for speech or writing so muddled one can't tell its point.
  11. Driving Straight InCao Cao · IdiomsDriving deep into enemy territory unopposed; an irresistible advance.